Families of Musical Instruments Visual & Performing Arts Coursework

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Families of Music Instruments
Introduction
The instruments used in an orchestra are broadly classified into four; woodwind, string, percussion, and brass. Each of the families has various similarities with the other families in the manner in which the instruments are produced and played. The string section is placed directly in front of the conductor during an orchestra, and then woodwinds and brass follow, in that order. Percussion instruments are basically located at the back wings in the semicircle layout. Despite the similarities, instruments in the different classes vary in terms of size, timbre, and how sound is produced.
String
Most of the instruments found in this section are similar in appearance. However, they differ in terms of size they are played in a very similar manner. They can be played by plucking their strings, which is referred to as pizzicato, or the strings made to sound using a bow (Maki and Ariyama 481). The string section makes up the largest section of the orchestra, implying that this family is the largest of the four families. Further, the string section is composed of five groups of players; the first violin, second violin, several violas, several cellos, and also double basses; it also has the sharp in this section, as shown in the following diagram.
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